These are just a handful of emails I’ve gotten from guys complaining about not being able to build muscle.

Not because they can’t stick with a workout, but because they can’t seem to eat enough to gain weight.

They like to blame their “fast” metabolism.

They claim to eat huge amounts of food but the scale still never goes up.

So are these guys right?

The truth about your “fast metabolism”

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Let’s cut the crap.

What most guys think is a “fast” metabolism is actually one (or a combination) of the following:

Small appetite

Increased activity levels (usually younger guys playing sports or have strenuous jobs), which lead to higher calorie requirements

Laziness to track how much you’re eating

Small appetite: “But I eat so much and still can’t gain weight”

The high school athlete who trains water polo 3 hours per day?

Sure, they really need to eat a lot to gain weight.

But they’re the exception.

What about everyone else?

The reality behind this phrase is that you are likely eating a lot, but only on occasion.

This is the guy will go out to a Chinese buffet on a Saturday night, stuff himself till he can barely walk, and complain about not gaining weight.

But on Monday, this same guy skips breakfast, has a bag of chips for lunch, maybe drinks a protein shake a few hours later, and has a turkey sandwich for dinner.

Stop saying, “But I eat so much and still can’t gain weight.”

Most guys who eat “a lot,” only do so on occasion, but never on a daily basis.

You don’t have a fast metabolism. You just don’t track how much you’re eating.

Let me ask you something: “Do you track how much you’re eating on a daily basis?”

If you answered anything other than “yes,” then you have no right to complain about having a fast metabolism.

You might “feel” like you’re eating a lot, but the numbers don’t lie.

Until you buckle down for 2 weeks and track how much your calories, then you really have no idea what you’re talking about.

Use Myfitnesspal, a spreadsheet, your notes app, a notepad, or whatever.

Just track, and be honest with yourself.

To gain weight, most guys need a daily calorie intake of 16-18x their bodyweight in pounds.

Consistently eating a lot is fucking hard

Knowing and tracking how much you should eat is one thing.

But now comes the hard part, actually doing it.

When I first tried to gain muscle, I literally had to force down peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to hit my calorie goal for the day.

Because I knew if I didn’t, I wouldn’t gain pack on any size.

So if you struggle with getting enough calories, here are some tips for you:

Do NOT follow something like intermittent fasting. IF works great for cutting and maintaining, but if you need 4000 calories per day, it can be hard to do in 1-3 meals. Don’t get me wrong, it can work fine for gaining mass, but realistically, cramming so many calories into 1-3 meals is tough. It’s much easier to eat 4-6 meals per day.

Drink MEGA shakes. 1-3 times per day, make a MEGA shake (shakes super high in calories). A couple of these shakes can easily put you in a surplus. Here’s a sample recipe:

Needed to see this today. Started plateau-ing and realized I just need to force more calories. Don’t think I was counting enough with my physical labor job into it. So fucking hard to eat that much though, you aren’t exaggerating

Great post, definitely needed the wake up call. Just one thing, how would you measure calories based on food that isn’t ready made. E.g. you go to a restaurant and order.. rice, curry with potato and chicken. Weird combo but yea. Since it isn’t labelled with how much calories it has, how would you ho about this process?

You will never know the exact calories, so you just need to do your best to estimate (e.g. learn what 3oz chicken or 1 cup rice looks like so you can use that as a standardized value and make estimates based off that). Other than that, when it comes to fat loss and eating out, just don’t eat until you’re stuffed and pick options that are super high in fat, and always make sure there’s some protein in the meal.

I’m a female 46 years old been 120lbs forever I have lost 5 lbs in the last 2 months and haven’t changed nothing didn’t know if everything slowing down makes you loose weight before you start gaining weight